On Friday 17th February, The New Zealand cricket team cancelled its current tour of Pakistan hours before the first One-Day International (ODI) in Rawalpindi, claiming a security concern that could potentially cause an unwanted threat for the visitors.

Blackcaps, who landed after 18 years in Pakistan, had to play 3 ODIs and 5 T20I against the hosts. The PCB asserted that the board and the Pakistan government established comprehensive security measures for all visiting teams, and the arrangements for New Zealand were no less than a full-proof plan irrespective of any severe threats that could alter the proceedings.

However, the visitors released the statement that they are unable to continue the tour and would immediately travel back to their homeland at the earliest.

Following the decision, cricketers and sportsperson from across the globe heavily criticized Blackcaps for their crude behaviour towards the host, and ultimately damaging the crux of the game.

Newly-Appointed PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja tweeted,

Ramiz Raja vows to take this issue up with International Cricket Council (ICC) as this really dented the reputation of Pakistan amongst other cricket-playing nations.

Not only this but prominent cricket persons around the world were also flabbergasted by the hasty decision of New Zealand cricket,

Pakistan Cricket Team Captain Babar Azam expressed his disappointment said, 

Pakistani All-Rounder Shadab Khan praised the security arrangements and said,

Former England Captain Micheal Vaughan affirmed that these decisions will really affect the cricketing affairs of Pakistan,

Windies Cricket Sherfane Rutherford, who plays for Peshawar Zalmi in PSL also felt the pain of many Pakistani fans and tweeted,

Even some of the Kiwis were quite surprised by the sudden decision of their board who inspected the security surveillance prior to the series in Pakistan.

Grant Elliot, who has played PSL in Pakistan tweeted, 

Darren Sammy, player and mentor of Peshawar Zalmi was quite gutted by the stance of the New Zealand board and said,

Besides, many fans and sports fanatics highlighted the humiliation done by the New Zealand cricket board which became the talk of the town.

To bring some good fortune to the table, cricketers from other playing nations think that Pakistan is safe for any kind of sports activities and they follow a definite security plan to avoid any mishaps.

Chris Gayle, who has toured Pakistan several times and represented many franchises in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), caught the headlines by tweeting,

His tweet caught the attention of many Pakistani fans across the globe and here’s how they reacted to his say,

We really hope that this decision won’t impact the cricketing schedule in Pakistan where fans are strongly connected with this sport. The Pakistani government has once again assured all the teams that we will provide a top-notch security setup to carry international tournaments with ease.